HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - A 16-year-old accused of burying a fetus in a patch of woods in Conway pleaded guilty Friday as part of a plea agreement.
The 16-year-old was charged with desecrating human remains after investigators found pictures of a fetus on the teen's cell phone in 2009. The girl, who has not been identified because she is a juvenile, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unauthorized removal of remains of a body.
She was sentenced to six months probation. Authorities say the girl delivered a stillborn child and buried the fetus at an address on Woodwinds Drive in Conway.
Officers with the Horry County Police Department were dispatched to a location on 17th Avenue North in Surfside Beach around 3 a.m. on Dec. 7, 2009, after pictures of the deceased fetus were discovered on the teen's phone. Other pictures shown to authorities upon arrival included what appeared to be a burial for the fetus.
Police say the mother of the 16-year-old girl went to an address on Woodwinds Drive in Conway, where she dug up the skeletal remains of the fetus herself.
"She recognized the place [from the photos] as being a place they previous resided," said Sgt. Robert Kegler, spokesman for the Horry County Police Department.
Shortly following the discovery, the Horry County Police Department's Violent Crimes Section was dispatched to the scene and a full-fledged investigation was initiated. Questioning and an extended investigation revealed the burial of the fetus occurred in May 2009.
"I'm not sure what's going on, but I do know I have full support of my daughter," said the mother of the 16-year-old during an exclusive interview with WMBF News.
The 16-year-old was taken into police custody as a result of the findings by police.
A judge ordered her to undergo mental evaluations while on probation.
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